3 Things I Am Thankful My Father Taught Me

{ June 14th, 2008 }

My father is a great man. He would never admit it and he may not even know it, but he is. I owe him so much more than I will probably ever know. Here are just three things that he taught me:

“God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those called according to His purpose .” Losing your mother when you are 15 is not something that is easily dealt with. It is even harder to see such a thing as a ‘good,’ and yet that is what has happened over these past 10 years of my life. The truth of God’s sovereign, all-encompassing grace is a lesson not easily learned, but my dad helped me learn it through the painful ordeal of real life. Even though I was often hard of hearing and slipped into stubborn inward rebellion the truth of God’s love for all of his children involved in the fatal cancer that took my mother’s life is magnificent in its scope and stunning in its application. I owe a great debt of gratitude for my father in pointing me in the direction of truth when the pain of loss seemed too much to bear.

A home is not about a place, it is about people . This may seem a little odd coming from me since my family lived in the same house for practically its entire existence, but I feel like it is a strong message that the life of my father has sent. A home isn’t about what type of food you eat every day, or how clean the carpets are, or what the yard looks like, or what neighbors you have. Instead, a home is founded on the love of its members for one another. Its wall consist of shared experience, creating an inclusiveness defined by the things that affect those closest to your heart. And a home is roofed with the actions of love that protect you from the storms of this life.

It is okay to respond passionately to really wrong things and to be aggressive in dealing with them . By no means was my father perfect, but even in his imperfections he taught me vital lessons about what it means to be a man. If my dad felt like something was wrong he could respond explosively, often demanding immediate change and adherence to correct conduct. This principle, applied rightly, has a powerful effect both on one’s own ability to do right in the world and one’s effectiveness at protecting others from external and internal harm. Seeing my father’s love for righteousness, even if sometimes misapplied, has left a deep impression in me, creating in me natural and loving responses that protect both my heart and the heart’s of those I love from evil. This is a lesson that I cherish particularly deeply,

Thank you dad for all the ways that you have been the shadow of our Dad to me. I love you.

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